Final Fantasy VII Remake fans are reimaging Tifa Lockhart with shorter hair in the latest social media fanart sensation. Tifa is a popular character within Square Enix’s legendary JRPG franchise thanks to her hand-to-hand fighting style, her tough-as-nails yet compassionate personality, and compelling backstory as a childhood friend and love interest of lead hero Cloud Strife. They both grew up in the doomed town of Nibelheim before the events of Final Fantasy VII, with Tifa going on to join the anti-Shinra group Team AVALANCHE after it was razed by the crazed SOLIDER-turned-archvillain Sephiroth.
In addition to her recurring appearances in the various Final Fantasy VII spin-off games, Tifa has been featured in several other Final Fantasy titles over the years along with guest spots in non-FF games like Kingdom Hearts, Itadaki Street, and Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring – not to mention her numerous roles in web-animated shows like Death Battle and Dead Fantasy. In fact, Tifa's extended story segments were planned for Final Fantasy VII remake, but these were cut due to time constraints.
Last week, web artist Strawderryst issued an open challenge on Twitter for Final Fantasy VII Remake fans to post drawings of Tifa with a shortened haircut, starting with a few in-game renderings of the heroine in this new style. Many other artists followed suit in the days to come, with Fadingz taking things a step further by imaging a short-haired Tifa dressed in Cloud’s iconic SOLIDER uniform (complete with Buster Sword), Sreliata posting their own rendering, and Rebelliae drawing the new Tifa in the style of the character art for the original Final Fantasy VII. All of these can be seen in the Twitter posts below:
Fans have been getting more of Tifa thanks to the aforementioned Final Fantasy VII Remake, which updated the earlier chapters of her story for a new generation of gamers to much critical acclaim. While the first chapter of this new series remained confined to the city of Midgar, Square Enix has hinted that FF7R Part 2 is bigger, as Cloud and company go on the run from Shinra and try to uncover the mystery behind Sephiroth’s surprising return. Furthermore, Square released the Yuffie-centric FF7R EPISODE INTERmission DLC expansion back in June, which features new team-up moves and story elements that will carry over to the rest of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series.
In the meantime, fans are fully embracing the idea of Tifa sporting a shorter hairstyle, with plenty of great fan art as a result. She really does look great with this new haircut, and it matches up pretty well with her more grounded and tomboyish personality. While Tifa is likely going to keep her original long locks for the next installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake, players can expect even more of her in action in the years to come.